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The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and the American Heart Association (AHA) have announced a contest for researchers and clinicians to submit research questions that can help address evidence gaps to improve treatment for people with cardiovascular disease. The challenge will award four cash prizes of $5,000. Proposed hypotheses should pose questions that can be answered using comparative effectiveness research and a precision medicine approach. Entries must be submitted by October 6, 2016. More information is available on the PCORI website.

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has released its plans to support the Vice President’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative. PCORI’s National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet) has committed to (1) enhancing its national data network to facilitate large-scale cancer research; (2) creating data tables that describe characteristics of patient cohorts treated for the most common types of cancer; and (3) establishing a Cancer Collaborative Research Group within PCORnet to assist in identifying research questions, developing approaches to integrate big data in cancer prevention and treatment, and reducing disparities. More about PCORI’s support for the Cancer Moonshot is available on its website.

PCORI’s authorizing legislation mandates that the Institute ensure that all primary research is peer reviewed and release research findings to clinicians, patients, and the general public in a timely manner. The draft proposal combines these two responsibilities (meaning that findings will not be made public until they have undergone peer review). The proposed peer review process opts not to rely on scientific journals’ peer review, due to concerns about timeliness and the necessity of assessing researchers’ compliance with PCORI’s methodology standards. Instead, it proposes that PCORI coordinate the peer review of the research it funds.